Fixture Library ​

Studio needs to know what each of your lights is: which channels it has, in which order, and what they do. That description is the fixture's profile. Studio finds profiles in three places, all listed in the Patch Fixture popup when you press Add in a universe's fixture pool (see Patching fixtures):

In the demo show, the four heads are Martin MAC Aura from the Open Fixture Library; the patching demo adds a Generic PAR RGBW from Bundled (GDTF) (Patching a fixture).

Finding a Fixture ​

Type in Search items above the list to filter it. Open Fixture Library fixtures are listed by their library names, in lower case: a folder per manufacturer (martin) holding a file per model (mac-aura.json), so search for a part of the model's name, such as aura, rather than its full commercial name. Unfold a folder to see its fixtures. When you pick one, the popup shows its Fixture mode list: the DMX modes the fixture offers.

Pick the mode your light is set to on its own menu or DIP switches. The mode decides how many channels the fixture takes and what each one does; a wrong mode makes faders move the wrong things (the pan on the dimmer fader, colours out of order).

Tip: If your exact model isn't listed, look for a sibling model of the same manufacturer with the same mode (same channel count and order, written in the light's manual), or use a bundled generic fixture with the same channels. Otherwise import its GDTF file.

GDTF Fixtures ​

GDTF is the file format manufacturers use to describe their fixtures, including their 3D models and gobo images. For a fixture that isn't in the list:

1. Get its .gdtf file: from the manufacturer's website, or from GDTF Share, the shared library most manufacturers publish to.
2. In the Patch Fixture popup, press Import GDTF… under the fixture list and pick the files, or drop them on the list.
3. They appear under Imported (GDTF), in every show on this device.

GDTF fixtures are drawn in the visualizer from their own description: each beam, cell and moving part sits where the file puts it, gobos project the file's images, and the manufacturer's 3D models replace Studio's generated parts when the file has them.

Note: Imported fixtures are kept in this browser's storage (the desktop app has its own). Clearing the site's data, or using a private window, removes them. Keep your .gdtf files.

If a file can't be imported, the popup says why:

Opening a Show With Missing Fixtures ​

A showfile names the fixtures it uses; it doesn't contain their GDTF files. When you open a show that uses GDTF fixtures this device hasn't imported (a show from another computer, or after clearing the browser's data), Studio shows Missing fixtures first, with each one ticked once found:

• Import their files with Import GDTF… (or drop them on the popup), then press Open.
• Or press Open anyway: the missing fixtures keep their addresses, groups and scene values, but they stay dark and send nothing until you import their files and open the show again.

Open Fixture Library and bundled fixtures are never missing: they're part of Studio.

Fixtures in 3D ​

Every patched fixture shows in the visualizer, placed by its Position and Rotation (see Fixture settings and position):

• Bodies follow the fixture's parts: a base, yoke and head for moving heads, a can for PARs and profiles, a bar or a panel, each sized like the real fixture. GDTF files with their own 3D models show the manufacturer's parts instead; Open Fixture Library fixtures get parts built from their type and size.
• Detail follows the visualizer's quality: lower levels use simpler models so large rigs stay smooth.
• Light comes from the fixture's channels: dimmer, colour, zoom, gobos, prisms and more (see the table below). A fixture's brightness follows its light output, so a 20,000 lm spot outshines a 2,000 lm PAR at the same dimmer.

Cells ​

Some fixtures repeat a set of channels: each pixel of a bar has its own red, green and blue; each head of a multi-head fixture its own pan and tilt. Each repeat is a cell. Studio lights each cell in its own colour, lets scenes give every cell its own values and lets effects travel from cell to cell. Channels for the whole fixture (a master dimmer, a strobe) belong to no cell.

The universe view and scenes show a Cells widget for these fixtures: see Trying a fixture and Scenes.

Supported Channel Types ​

Every channel is sent to your lights, whatever its type. The visualizer draws the ones marked ✅.

Note: If a fixture has several gobo wheels, only its first one is drawn.